Human TRPA1 is a heat sensor displaying intrinsic U-‐shaped thermosensitivity
Lavanya Moparthi, Tatjana I. Kichko, Mirjam Eberhardt, Edward D. Högestätt, Per Kjellbom, Urban Johanson, Peter W. Reeh, Andreas Leffler, Milos R. Filipovic and Peter M. Zygmunt
Supplementary Information
Figures 1-‐6
Supplementary Fig. 1. The TRPA1 antagonists HC030031 and ruthenium red as well as reducing (DTT
and TCEP) and oxidizing (H2O2) agents had no effects on lipid bilayers without hTRPA1 at a test
potential of +60 mV (n = 3-‐4). Representative traces and the corresponding amplitude histograms are
shown; c indicates closed channel state. Single channel currents were recorded with the patch-‐clamp
technique in a symmetrical K+ solution.
Supplementary Fig. 2. No currents were observed when lipid bilayers without hTRPA1 were exposed
to various temperatures at a test potential of +60 mV (n = 3). Representative traces and the
corresponding amplitude histograms are shown; c indicates closed channel state. Single channel
currents were recorded with the patch-‐clamp technique in a symmetrical K+ solution.
Supplementary Fig. 3. Representative traces showing the effect of cold in the absence and presence
of electrophilic compounds on hTRPA1 expressed in HEK293t cells. (a) No inward currents were
observed at 15 °C whereas the non-‐electrophilic compound carvacrol at a high concentration
produced inward and outward currents confirming that hTRPA1 was functionally expressed. (b and c)
The electrophilic compounds acrolein (n = 6-‐9) and allyl isothiocyanate (AITC, n = 4), at a
concentration that produced no or minor hTRPA1 inward currents at 25 °C, triggered the cold-‐
sensitivity of hTRPA1. Cells were either constantly held at a membrane potential of -‐60 mV (left panel
traces) or subjected to 500 ms voltage ramps from -‐100 to + 100 mV (right panel traces).
Supplementary Fig. 4. Representative fluorescence spectra showing the effect of the non-‐
electrophilic compound carvacrol (100 µM) on hTRPA1 cold and heat responses. (a) At 22 °C,
carvacrol itself emitted fluorescence that was subtracted when its effect on (b) cold and (c) heat was
analyzed at the emission wavelength of 335 nm. The fluorescence intensity for each indicated
temperature was related to that of 22 °C and expressed as Relative Fluorescence Intensity. Excitation
was done at 280 nm and spectra were collected from 300 nm to 500 nm. Data are represented as
mean ± s.e.m. of 3 separate experiments.
Supplementary Fig. 5. Representative traces showing the effect of the non-‐electrophile carvacrol and
the electrophilic compound acrolein on hTRPA1 heat responses in HEK293t cells expressing hTRPA1.
Heat currents in the presence of (a) carvacrol (n = 7) and (b) acrolein (n = 6) in cells subjected to 500
ms voltage ramps from -‐100 to + 100 mV.
Supplementary Fig. 6. Heat-‐induced TRPA1-‐dependent neuropeptide release from mouse trachea.
Shown is the experimental design for studying the effect of heat under various conditions on the
release of the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-‐related peptide (CGRP) from mouse trachea as
presented in Fig. 6a. Importantly, the combination of H2O2 and NaOCl, used to oxidize the cellular
TRPA1 environment, did not cause CGRP release at the pre-‐incubation temperature of 22 °C. The
release of CGRP is calculated as increase of CGRP over baseline (ΔCGRP in pg/ml) and data are
represented as mean ± s.e.m. of separate experiments (n) as indicated in the graph. P values below
0.05 indicate statistically significant differences using ANOVA Tukey's honest significant difference
test.